www.thelancet.com/planetary-health Vol 5 December 2021 e863 Articles Lancet Planet Health 2021; 5: e863–73 *Joint first authors Department of Social & Policy Sciences (C Hickman MSc) and Department of Psychology (E Marks ClinPsyD), University of Bath, Bath, UK; Faculty of Theology and Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland (P Pihkala PhD); Department of Psychology, The College of Wooster, Wooster, OH, USA (Prof S Clayton PhD); Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA (R E Lewandowski PhD); School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (E E Mayall BSc); Stanford University Center for Innovation in Global Health and Stanford and Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA (B Wray PhD); Centre on Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK (B Wray); Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK (C Mellor MBChB); Climate Psychiatry Alliance, Washington, DC, USA (L van Susteren MD); Climate Psychology Alliance, Washington, DC, USA (L van Susteren) Correspondence to: Ms Caroline Hickman, Department of Social & Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK [email protected] Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey Caroline Hickman*, Elizabeth Marks*, Panu Pihkala, Susan Clayton, R Eric Lewandowski, Elouise E Mayall, Britt Wray, Catriona Mellor, Lise van Susteren Summary Background Climate change has important implications for the health and futures of children and young people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to climate anxiety. This is the first large-scale investigation of climate anxiety in children and young people globally and its relationship with perceived government response. Methods We surveyed 10 000 children and young people (aged 16–25 years) in ten countries (Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, the UK, and the USA; 1000 participants per country). Invitations to complete the survey were sent via the platform Kantar between May 18 and June 7, 2021. Data were collected on participants’ thoughts and feelings about climate change, and government responses to climate change. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each aspect of climate anxiety, and Pearson’s correlation analysis was done to evaluate whether climate-related distress, functioning, and negative beliefs about climate change were linked to thoughts and feelings about government response. Findings Respondents across all countries were worried about climate change (59% were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried). More than 50% reported each of the following emotions: sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. More than 45% of respondents said their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning, and many reported a high number of negative thoughts about climate change (eg, 75% said that they think the future is frightening and 83% said that they think people have failed to take care of the planet). Respondents rated governmental responses to climate change negatively and reported greater feelings of betrayal than of reassurance. Climate anxiety and distress were correlated with perceived inadequate government response and associated feelings of betrayal. Interpretation Climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses are widespread in children and young people in countries across the world and impact their daily functioning. A perceived failure by governments to respond to the climate crisis is associated with increased distress. There is an urgent need for further research into the emotional impact of climate change on children and young people and for governments to validate their distress by taking urgent action on climate change. Funding AVAAZ. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Introduction Climate anxiety and eco-anxiety (distress relating to the climate and ecological crises) are gaining attention worldwide as people become increasingly aware of the current and future global threats associated with our warming planet. 1 The climate crisis has important long-term implications for physical and mental health as a result of acute and chronic environmental changes, from storms and wildfires to changing landscapes, and increasing temperatures. 2 Climate anxiety is complex, 3 and is recognised to often be based on constructive or practical anxiety. 1 Although painful and distressing, climate anxiety is rational and does not imply mental illness. Anxiety is an emotion that alerts us to danger, which can cause us to search for more information about the situation and find potential solutions. In threatening and uncertain situations such as the climate crisis, this response can be seen as what is sometimes referred to as practical anxiety 1,4 because it has the beneficial effect of leading people to reassess their behaviour in order to respond appropriately. However, because the climate crisis is so complex and lacks a clear solution, anxiety can easily become too intense and even overwhelming. 5–7 Climate anxiety can be connected to many emotions, including worry, 8 fear, 9 anger, 10 grief, despair, guilt, and shame, 11 as well as hope, 12 although the presence of these vary between individuals. As research in this field emerges, certain emotions have received more attention,
Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey
Jul 09, 2023
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Related Documents
